From its beginnings as a closed Facebook group, Goan Eat Outs has evolved into a food review portal
Jay Joshi
It just started out of passion, and has only grown due to word of mouth,” says Gouri Joshi explaining the origins of the group. “We realised at one point of time that people in Goa - Goans as well as tourists from outside - love to eat out, but many don’t know good places to eat, or which place offer the best quality of a particular dish. Finding a solution to this problem led the idea to take shape.”
Thus began the journey of Facebook group Goan Eat Outs, a fraternity of foodies who exchange views and information of the best eateries in town. Founded on Valentine’s Day 2018, the group has around 7,700 members as of August 2018, and the founder Gouri Joshi emphasises that the group has grown only by word of mouth. With time, it has taken on a broader purpose. Not only do the members exchange reviews of dishes and restaurants, but also, it has become a platform for small businesses to advertise and attract customers. “Yes, it is a result of the group’s evolution,” says Joshi. “The group has been driven by passion. Everything does not need to involve money,” she adds.
Even so, the founders have a vision for the group’s future. “We are going to make a provision called ‘files’.where eateries could share their menus so that we have all details in one place and people don’t have to go searching,” informs Smita Patil, one of the group’s three co-founders along with Gouri Joshi and Ketan Karapurkar. Smita has also started a whatsapp group called “meet outs”. Here, the members arrange once-a-week outings to various eateries, and later post the reviews on the Facebook group.
“The only criterion if you want to join the group is that you should be a foodie,” says the group’s co-founder and admin Ketan Karapurkar “All food-lovers are welcome, irrespective of location. There is no compulsion for contribution too. We don’t mind lurkers!” he quips, adding that one rule the team emphasizes is positive and balanced criticism.
“If you want to convey a bad opinion, it is better you put it across to the concerned person on personal message. But in case you do want to put it on group, take care not to slander anyone. You have to word criticism as mildly and positively as possible,” elaborates Gouri Joshi. However, lurkers or trolls is not the real problem the group faces, informs Smita Patil.
“The problem is that people tend to post a lot of recipes here. This betrays the core purpose of the group. Fortunately, it’s a closed group, so posts don’t get through without approval from the admins.”
